The move was not unexpected, but it comes with the possibility that some of the gap-closing measures the league took—specifically its so-called "make-whole" proposition—could be absent from its next proposal, whenever that comes. The NHL lockout was in its 40th day on Thursday.

Daly said he expected the move to be formalized on Friday, and that league would internally explore its next move.

"This proposal no longer works because it was a proposal to save 82 games," Daly said. "We have to rethink where we are, and what type of season we're looking at, and we have to formulate and construct a proposal that makes sense for the reality of where we are."

More cancellations are expected, likely on Friday, with the All-Star Game and Winter Classic in increasing danger, as commissioner Gary Bettman noted on Wednesday at Barclays Center for the announcement of the Islanders' move to Brooklyn.

The "make-whole" provision, as proposed, would mitigate the players' seven-percent revenue cut over the next two seasons by borrowing against their future earnings. Players received a 57 percent share of revenues in the last CBA, and the league wants to cut that drastically, citing the increased cost of running franchises.

The sides have agreed, in principle, on a 50/50 revenue split by the end of the next CBA but differ significantly on how to get to that point, with owners calling for the drop immediately and players proposing a more gradual decline. The owners' acknowledgement that they at least need to attempt to honor contracts was a positive sign, as was the players' move toward a 50-percent, but the resultant optimism is on the wane.

NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr requested meetings with the league this week, but both Bettman and Daly said that talks would be pointless because the union wasn't planning to make another proposal of its own or suitably negotiating off the owners'.

"We said to them that we are prepared to meet if you want to discuss our offer, or you want to make a new offer," Bettman told reporters on Wednesday. "They have no inclination on doing either, and so there really was no point in meeting at this point."

The players' response is that they made three counterproposals last week, which were rejected out of hand by the league.

"It takes two to negotiate. They seem to be really good at imposing deadlines and issuing ultimatums and having lockouts," Fehr told ESPN. It seems to be something they're well-practiced at."

Whether that's true or not is debatable-the proposals certainly attempt to respond to the owners' stated concerns. In any case, Daly's logic can be applied to Thursday's news—the simplest proposal is the one that doesn't exist.